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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. season — of the year
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. ground — crushed
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. face — to confront
  9. season — in sport
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — for catching
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bore — to drill
  16. net — in sport
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. sharp — clever
  19. ground — a position
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. face — to point toward
  23. ground — the earth
  24. nail — for a hammer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com